Evaluating the Performance of Urban Management within the Good Urban Governance Framework and its Relationship with the Quality of Urban Life and Social Capital

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran (Corresponding Author).

10.22034/aaud.2022.202213.1994

Abstract

Nowadays, the challenges of urban systems and the importance of sustainable urban development make changes in the paradigms of urban management and provision of urban services. This paradigm shift has led to the dominance of the good urban governance approach, as the most appropriate and effective way to manage today's cities. In urban management, this approach, based on democratic and egalitarian sustainable development, is applied to influence all actors in urban management and also to meet all the needs of citizens. Nowadays, cities have achieved a new management approach, called good urban governance. Since city councils and municipalities are considered the most significant urban management bodies in Iran, the present study aims to assess the performance of urban management in Ahvaz within the framework of good governance and its relationship with social capital and quality of urban life. The statistical population includes citizens older than 18 years old in Ahvaz city in 2019. The sample size is estimated to be 400 people using Cochran's formula. The samples are selected using multi-stage cluster sampling technique. The findings indicate the indicators of good urban governance (including responsiveness and accountability, transparency, rule of law, efficiency and effectiveness, and participation) are not at an optimal level, and the urban management (city council and municipality) of Ahvaz has not been able to realize good urban governance. Moreover, social capital (social trust and social participation) and the quality of urban life are positively correlated with good urban governance. The variables of social capital and urban quality of life influence good urban governance by 0.42 and 0.45, respectively.

Keywords


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